History of Optometry in the World and in Iran

- The history of optometry in the world dates back to the emergence and use of lenses.
- In 434 BC, burning lenses were known and discussed. This may be considered an early starting point for the use of the optical properties of lenses and, consequently, for applied optics and modern optometry.
- Optometry owes much to the science of light physics and its application in medicine. Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham, the distinguished Iranian-Islamic physicist and physician born in 354 AH / 965 AD, holds an eminent place in optics. He is regarded as the father of optical physics and is known in Latin writings as Alhazen or al-Hasan. Ibn al-Haytham’s Book of Optics was translated into Latin in the West and became known as the “Treasure of Optics.” It influenced nearly all European scholars working on light, from Witelo, Pecham, and Roger Bacon to Kepler in the seventeenth century.
- Although the explanation of the principles of the camera obscura and the invention of the magnifying glass are among the major achievements attributed to this Muslim scientist, Western sources state that the use of a plano-convex lens to magnify written texts was described by Roger Bacon in the mid-thirteenth century, around 1263. This may have been one of the earliest practical applications of optics and an important foundation for modern optometry.
- Roger Bacon was the first to propose the use of lenses for correcting visual impairment.
- In 1286, spectacles were invented by an unknown craftsman. In 1604, Johannes Kepler described the function of the retina and demonstrated that myopia could be corrected with concave lenses and hyperopia with convex lenses.
- In 1621, Snell discovered the law of refraction.
- The first book on the principles of optometry, titled The Use of Spectacles, was published in Spain by Daza de Valdés in 1623.
- The first optometric service center was established by John McAllister in 1783.
- In 1784, Benjamin Franklin invented the first executive bifocal lens for use in prescription spectacles.
- In 1798, John Dalton described color blindness.
- In 1801, Thomas Young discovered astigmatism and drew the first map of the normal visual field.
- In 1843, the invention of the trial lens case created the first scientific conditions required for determining spectacle prescriptions. Before that time, ready-made spectacles with concave lenses, known as “young people’s glasses,” were selected by trial and error to improve distance vision, while convex lenses, known as “old people’s glasses,” were used to improve near vision. Over a short period, spectacle selling evolved into the assessment of refractive status, selection of suitable frames and lenses, and scientific fabrication of prescription spectacles based on individual optical measurements. In this way, early optometry took shape.
- In 1847, James Prentice, an English spectacle maker and seller, migrated to the United States. His son, Charles Prentice, began working as the first optometrist and became known as the father of American optometry.
- In 1851, Hermann von Helmholtz invented the ophthalmoscope, enabling humans to see inside the eye for the first time.
- In 1862, the development of visual acuity charts, including the Snellen chart, made quantitative measurement of vision possible.
- In 1864, Donders described disorders of accommodation and refraction, normal values, and prescribing principles, and for the first time added cylindrical lenses to the trial lens case.
- In 1865, the term “optometry” was used for the first time in a Dutch dissertation on refraction.
- In 1872, the Illinois College of Optometry was established.
- In 1873, the principles of retinoscopy and the use of the retinoscope were described, and the unit “diopter” was proposed for lens power.
- In 1886, the term “optometry” was used for refractive methods, and Charles Prentice introduced the prism-diopter measurement system.
- The first contact lens was tested in 1887, and in 1888 scleral contact lenses were successfully used for vision correction.
- The first comprehensive book for optometrists, Handbook for Opticians, was written by William Bohne, a member of the American Association of Opticians. This association was founded in 1898, renamed the American Optical Association in 1910, and finally the American Optometric Association in 1919. During these years, opticians gradually came to be known as optometrists.
- In 1895, Charles Prentice was the first to charge a professional consultation fee for optometric services as a medical profession.
- In 1896, he published an article presenting arguments for the recognition of optometry as a medical profession by the government and competent authorities.
- In 1901, professional optometry laws were recognized in the state of Minnesota, and by 1921 professional optometry laws had been enacted throughout the United States.
- The first university-level optometry curriculum was developed at Columbia University in 1910, a major step toward consolidating the professional status of optometry.
- In 1914, optometrists institutionalized the requirement for eye examinations and vision tests for obtaining a driver’s license.
- In 1922, the American Academy of Optometry was established to promote research in optometry.
- In 1923, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry awarded the first professional Doctor of Optometry degree (OD).
- In 1938, soft contact lenses made of PMMA were introduced for use.
- By 1954, optometry education programs had gradually developed and become more complete.
- In 1961, optometrists drafted legislation seeking approval for the use of diagnostic ophthalmic drugs.
- In 1971, the use of ophthalmic drugs for diagnostic purposes by optometrists was approved in Rhode Island, and by 1984 it had become legal in all U.S. states.
- In 1973, a bill was drafted in North Carolina to allow optometrists to use and prescribe pharmaceutical agents for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
- In 1976, the use and prescription of therapeutic drugs by optometrists was approved in West Virginia, and by 1998 this law had been implemented in all U.S. states as a means of reducing healthcare costs.
- In 1998, the use of lasers by optometrists for certain therapeutic purposes was authorized in Oklahoma.
- Since 2000, optometrists have independently performed and interpreted paraclinical eye tests, participated in all refractive eye surgeries, and in some cases independently carried out minor eye procedures, including removal of foreign bodies from the cornea.
- Professional optometry laws in Iran have a history of more than half a century.
- The history of laws concerning the manufacture of prescription spectacles in Iran dates back to the 1334 SH regulations on food, beverages, cosmetics, and health products.
- In 1346 SH, the regulations governing prescription spectacle establishments, drafted pursuant to the 1334 law on food, beverages, cosmetics, and health products, explicitly recognized the professional status of optometry and clearly outlined its future role in the country, even though at that time the number of practicing optometrists in Iran was fewer than the fingers of one hand.
- The first optometry training courses in Iran were two-year associate-degree programs taught by French instructors during the 1350s SH.
- During that decade, the former National University, now Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, and Mashhad University of Medical Sciences launched these associate-degree programs simultaneously.
- The Mashhad program was closed because of a shortage of instructors. Its students were transferred to the former National University, while several others went abroad to continue their studies.
- In 1362 SH, after the Cultural Revolution, the associate-degree program was upgraded to a continuous four-year bachelor’s program, thereby establishing bachelor-level optometry education in Iran.
- In 1362 SH, the first bachelor’s degree program in optometry after the Cultural Revolution was held at Shahid Beheshti University, and students were admitted to the field.
- In 1363 SH, students were admitted to the second bachelor’s cohort, but because of a severe shortage of instructors and faculty members, admissions were subsequently suspended.
- In 1366 SH, the arrival of Dr. Aziz Rabie in Iran and the beginning of his work at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences helped alleviate part of the shortage of academic staff in the field.
- In 1367 SH, the first optometry organization in Iran, called the Iranian Optometry Association, obtained a license from the Ministry of Interior.
- In 1368 SH, because of the shortage of instructors, and at the suggestion of the educational deputy and the presidents of Shahid Beheshti University, two optometry graduates, Dr. Ali Mirzajani and Dr. Ebrahim Jafarzadeh-Pour, began working at the university as faculty members while completing their military service. With the assistance of Dr. Rabie and through continued efforts to maintain optometry education at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, they prevented the program from being closed.
- In 1368 SH, because qualified optometrists had been trained in the specialized manufacture and supply of prescription spectacles and there was no longer a need to rely on empirically trained workers, the Ministry of Health held, for the last time, a technical competency examination for experienced spectacle makers. Those who passed received licenses to manufacture and sell prescription spectacles.
- In 1368 SH, the optometry curriculum was developed by the Supreme Council for Planning, and optometry was defined as one of the medical-group disciplines with independent professional duties.
- In 1368 SH, the professional role of optometrists in the national health network was redefined. Their activities were expanded from those specified in the 1346 regulations on prescription spectacles to independent professional duties in private optometry offices and prescription spectacle establishments.
- In 1369 SH, despite the lack of academic faculty, the bachelor’s degree program in optometry was launched at Iran University of Medical Sciences.
- Between 1370 and 1373 SH, several optometry graduates from foreign universities, including Dr. Abbasali Yekta, who had previously gone abroad because the optometry program in Mashhad had been closed, returned to Iran. As a result, optometry was re-established in Mashhad as one of the disciplines of the Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences.
- In 1373 SH, with the establishment of an optometry program at Zahedan University, the number of Iranian universities with optometry departments rose to four: Iran, Zahedan, Shahid Beheshti, and Mashhad Universities of Medical Sciences.
- In 1374 SH, the Administrative Justice Court ruled that the manufacture of prescription spectacles was, in terms of the nature of the work and its technical characteristics, distinct, separate, and independent from ophthalmology.
- In 1376 SH, the Continuing Medical Education Act passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly explicitly recognized the manufacture of prescription spectacles as an allied medical profession and made renewal of professional licenses conditional upon completion of continuing education courses.
- In 1367 SH, the Iranian Optometry Association was established under the Ministry of Interior.
- In 1379 SH, because of severe financial difficulties, the Iranian Optometry Association under the Ministry of Interior was unable to continue its activities.
- In 1381 SH, the Iranian Scientific Optometry Association was established under the Ministry of Health, and its related regulations were approved.
- In 1383 SH, the General Board of the Administrative Justice Court, issuing a well-founded ruling based on Note 3 of Article 1 of the Continuing Medical Education Act, declared that the manufacture of prescription spectacles fell outside the scope of the Trade Union System Law. It also held that the authority to issue professional licenses for optometrists engaged in manufacturing prescription spectacles belonged to the competent bodies of the Ministry of Health.
- In 1383 SH, the first master’s degree program in optometry was launched at Mashhad University.
- In 1384 SH, the continuing education program for optometry was approved by the Ministry of Health.
- In 1384 SH, a new professional organization for optometry, titled the Iranian Optometry Society, began operating under the Ministry of Interior.
- In 1385 SH, the Supreme Court, through a unifying precedent decision, reaffirmed the 1383 ruling of the General Board of the Administrative Justice Court and again declared that the manufacture of prescription spectacles was outside the scope of the Trade Union System Law.
- In 1387 SH, the manufacture of prescription spectacles was once again recognized as an allied medical profession outside the scope of trade union laws.
- In 1388 SH, master’s degree programs in optometry were launched simultaneously at Iran University of Medical Sciences and Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
- In 1389 SH, because of conflicting judgments issued by Branches Five and Six of the Administrative Justice Court regarding empirically trained individuals who had intervened in the manufacture of prescription spectacles on the basis of business licenses issued by unions affiliated with the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, the Court issued a new ruling. The judgment reiterated and confirmed previous rulings, stating that involvement in the manufacture and sale of prescription spectacles required a professional license from the Ministry of Health. It found the rulings of Branch Five valid and consistent with national law only to the extent that they prohibited work in the manufacture and sale of prescription spectacles without a Ministry of Health license.
- In 1391 SH, the need to establish a PhD program in optometry was approved by the Ministry of Health.
- In 1392 SH, the first PhD program in optometry was launched at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, and students were admitted.
- In 1394 SH, because unions affiliated with the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade had interfered in the affairs of optometrists, who are the principal providers of vision care and the specialized manufacture and supply of prescription spectacles and contact lenses, another ruling was issued. In this decision, the General Board of the Administrative Justice Court repeatedly emphasized that, under the law, the manufacture of prescription spectacles is part of allied medical services and firmly declared optometric services, including the manufacture of prescription spectacles, to be special occupations exempt from the Trade Union System Law.

This text summarizes the most important aspects of the history of optometry in the world and in Iran. Readers who wish to suggest additions or corrections may send their comments to the email address of the Iranian Scientific Optometry Association: info@irsopt.org

Compiled and written by: Dr. Ali Mirzajani